Letters of Love and Pain
by UnicornLuvForever
Summary: After Adrien gives her a good luck charm similar to the one she gave him, Marinette begins to hope against hope that he has feelings for her, but what will she do when the love of her life asks her to help him write a love letter to a mysterious unnamed girl?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: This is not my fanfiction. This was not written by me. This fanfiction was written by my friend, MiraculousFangirl, who is also just as crazy about Miraculous as I am :D**

Something was going to happen on that beautiful, sunny Monday, and Marinette could feel it. She had no idea what it would be but it was something big. She had woken up early to go over her fencing rules (for the 313th time in the last 6 days as Tikki remarked) before school.

"Marinette, you should hurry up or you'll be late for school," her kwami said hovering behind her.

"Okay just one more minute," Marinette said with her brows knitted. Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Marinette, sweetie, breakfast is ready."

"Coming maman," she replied, closing her book with a sigh. "C'mon Tikki," she said holding her purse open. Tikki zoomed in as Marinette grabbed her bag and smiled dreamily as the pictures of Adrien on her wall caught her eye. As she hadn't closed her bag yet, Tikki saw her and cleared her throat to bring Marinette back to earth, and it worked.

"Sorry," Marinette said, grinning sheepishly. Tikki smiled and went back in her purse, which Marinette closed this time, and went downstairs.

After breakfast, she leisurely walked to school, contrary to her usual habit of sprinting with a piece of toast in her mouth. When she reached the front of the school, Alya was the first person to notice her.

"Girl, are you okay?" She asked Marinette, looking worried.

"Uh yeah, why?" The half-chinese girl asked her friend.

"Cuz you're early today," Alya said, still worried. Marinette giggled and said, "I'm fine, I just got up early to go over my fencing rules." Alya shook her head at her friend and said, "We should get to class, it's about to start." Marinette nodded and the two best friends headed to class. Just outside the classroom, they met Adrien and Nino, and Marinette immediately switched to stutter mode.

"Hi Alya, hi Marinette. You're early today," Adrien remarked, with the second sentence addressed to Marinette, who somehow managed to stutter that she had gotten up early that morning. Suddenly, as a thought struck the blonde, he said, "Uh, Marinette, could I talk to you for a minute?"

Marinette turned a brighter red than she already was, and said, "Sure, not why? No, I meant why, not sure? No, I mean, uhh."

Adrien smiled at his dark-haired friend and said, "I take that as a yes," and pulled her gently to the side.

"Well," he started, but stopped for a moment, as if putting his thoughts in order. "You see, uh, well there's this girl I know, and I like her, I think I'm in love with her, but I can't tell her, so I thought I'd write her a letter, but whenever I sit down to write, my mind goes blank and I don't know what to do. Could you please help me?" He looked up with desperation in his eyes but it changed to worry when he noticed Marinette. She was in shock, with her blue eyes as big as saucers, her lips slightly parted and her face whiter than a sheet.

"Mari, are you okay?" He asked cautiously.

A sudden change came upon her. Her colour came back, her eyes went back to their normal size and somehow, she had lost her stutter. Outwardly, she looked okay, but she felt something die inside her. Maybe it was hope, maybe it was happiness, but something had died. And yet, with a brave smile, she looked straight in his mesmerizing green eyes and said, "Of course."


	2. Chapter 2

The moment Marinette sat down in her seat, Alya tugged at her friend's shoulder and, with eyes filled with excitement, asked, "Well, what did he say?"

"Nothing really," Marinette replied with a smile that bothered Alya for some reason.

"He just wanted help writing something."

Alya was confused. Adrien had pulled Marinette over to the side to ask her to help him write something? That just sounded wrong. He could've just asked her in class. What could be so secret? "What did he want help writing?"

Marinette just smiled apologetically and said, "I'm sorry Alya, but he asked me not to tell anyone, even you and Nino."

Secretly, Marinette was glad Adrien had made her promise that, because she didn't know if she could talk about it without giving Adrien at least a hint of how sad she was. Luckily, the bell rang just as Alya opened her mouth to say something.

After school, Marinette ran home as fast as she could. Firstly, because she didn't want to answer any of Alya's questions. Secondly, because she had to "clean" her room before Adrien came, by which she meant she had to take down and hide all the pictures she had of him and change her computers wallpaper.

Marinette smiled at her parents as she walked into the bakery, and was about to walk up to her room when her mom called her back. "Sweetie, we just got an order for a hundred macaroons. Could you please help your father while I'm at the front with the customers?"

Marinette thought for a moment. She had to clean her room, but Adrien was going to come at 5:30 as he had a photo shoot, and it was only three.

"Sure. I'll be right down," she said and went to put her bag in her room, and to let Tikki out.

Tikki flew out the moment Marinette opened her purse and looked at her worriedly. " Marinette, are y-" she began in her cute, high-pitched voice but her friend cut her off.

"I'm fine Tikki, really. Now come on. These macaroons won't bake themselves, you know."

She smiled as she held her jacket open for her kwami. Tikki shot one last worried look at Marinette before zooming in.

Marinette was greeted with the welcoming scent of freshly baked macaroons the moment she set foot in the bakery. The scent made her smile, and she made a mental note to grab some for Tikki and Adrien. Adrien- she couldn't stop thinking about him, but she also knew that thinking about him won't help her bake macaroons.

"Oh good, you're here," her Papa said when she came in. "How was your day?"

"It was okay, just the usual," his dark-haired daughter replied. "So, what do you want me to do?"

He set about giving her instructions which she followed without making any mistakes (except dropping a bowl full of flour all over herself and her father, which was why both of them looked like ghosts.)

At about 4:30, just after placing the last batch in the oven, her phone rang. She was a bit surprised to see that it was Adrien who was texting, considering he should've been at his photo shoot.

She stepped up to the window so her father wouldn't be able to read the text (he could be a bit nosey sometimes) and opened it.

"Hey Marinette, photo shoot got cancelled because of the sudden rain. I'll be there in about 10 minutes. Thought I'd let you know."

10 minutes! She had to clean her room and change her flour-covered clothes. What was she going to do?

She rushed to her room and her hurriedly took down all the pictures of Adrien, changed her wallpaper and the rushed into the bathroom to get changed and cleaned up. She heard at the bakery door open just as she stepped out. "Marinette, someone's here to see you," her mother called.

"Coming!" she said running down the stairs. "Come on up, Adrien," she said to the blonde model, as she got to the bottom, who smiled sheepishly at Marinette's parents before following her upstairs.

When he entered her room, he noticed something was different. Maybe it was the flour marks all over the room. But that wasn't it. The room was missing the energetic, optimistic, uh, Marinette feeling. Marinette may be a bit clumsy, but she always had a positive energy around her. That's what the room was missing, Adrien thought. Even Marinette looked a bit low on that energy, though she was smiling kindly.

"Would you like something to eat before we get started?" she asked sweetly. "Sure," he said, even though the answer was obvious. No one, not even his father, could resist at least one of the Dupain-Cheng's tasty treats, and he could smell the sweet scent of freshly baked macaroons drifting upstairs. As he sat down on the bed, he got a whiff of something that smelled very familiar. For some reason, the scent made him smile and reminded him of his lady.

She was the reason he was here. He had been saving Paris with Ladybug for almost a year now, and he had loved her since day one.

The idea of having friends had given him courage to go to school the first time, but after meeting and falling in love with Ladybug, he had sent some of her confidence and determination slip into him. If it hadn't been for her, he would probably still be homeschooled.

Marinette walked in with a plate full of delicious looking, and smelling, macaroons. It took every bit of self-restraint in him to stop him from jumping on those tempting macaroons. He almost felt like they were taunting him by the speed they reached him as he followed them with greedy eyes.

"Thank you," he said, taking the plate from her hands, making it look like he wasn't dying for one. The macaroons seems to melt into his mouth. He felt like he was floating. Marinette laughed a little at his cute, blissful expression.

"What?" He asked after swallowing. "They're just so good."

Marinette blushed a little, and thanked him.

"Wait, did you make these?" looking at her with disbelief. She nodded and mumbled something about making that batch before looking nervously at him. For a moment, She had forgotten why he was there in the first place.

"Marinette," he said, picking another one from the plate, "They're amazing."

She thanked him and the happy expression on his face as he took another bite reminded her of the letter, and she felt a sudden pain in her chest.

" so Adrien," she said with a heavy heart and brave smile, " What's the name of the girl you're writing the letter to?"

"Oh, uh," he said a bit nervously after shoving the macaroon down his throat, "About that, Well, I kinda want to keep it a secret, at least for now, and I can't tell anyone, not even you. It's not that I don't trust you, I just can't tell you."

Marinette nodded in an understanding way and jokingly said, "Is her name Juliet?"

Adrien laughed. Marinette had a way of making everyone feel better when they were feeling awkward or sad. He admired her for this quality. He remembered the time she had come over to work on a presentation. He had been really sad that day because his father had yelled at him for no apparent reason. He felt like it was natural for him and his father to be sad as it was his mom's birthday and she wasn't there. Marinette had baked him cookies, at the risk of making their science teacher mad, and had even taught him the basics of baking. He was glad his father hadn't been home. Then they had worked on the presentation with a new enthusiasm and had gotten a 98%, and their classmates had been really impressed by Marinette's designs.

Adrian was still thinking about that night when there was a knock on Marinette's door. Marinette excused herself and came back a few moments later.

"Sorry about that. Maman was just telling me that she and Papa are going to my aunt's house because she is sick," she said.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Adrien said. He wasn't really sure what to say in a situation like this.

"It's okay. Anyway," she said, trying to ignore her pain, "We should get started on the letter."

"Right," the blonde said, as if the thought had just occurred to him.

"What's she like?" The half Chinese girl asked the blonde as she went to her desk to get a pen and pad of paper. She came back and sat down next to Adrien, who seemed to be looking for the right words.

"Well," he began, not quite sure what to say. There were no words in any earthly language to fully describe his lady.

" She-she's amazing. She's smart, and kind, and confident, and she's calm in tough situations, and she can be dead serious or really playful, depending on her mood and the situation, and she's always determined to reach her goal and-" he sighed happily and a dreamy expression came on his face, "she's beautiful."

Every word was torture for Marinette, but she knew she had to stay strong, for Adrien's sake. She did sound amazing, and Adrien thanked her when she told him. Even though it was heart wrenching for her to even imagine Adrien with someone else, she knew she was doing the right thing. She knew Adrien loved this girl, whoever she was, with all of his heart, and she also knew that he would be happy only when he was with her.

"We should start working," she told him. At about seven, after two hours of hard work (and, in Marinette's case, almost unbearable pain) they were done. They had left the opening and closing lines empty because, as Adrien told her, he was going to write their nicknames, which if he told Marinette, she could easily figure out the receiver of that letter. They had done the rough draft (about 10 papers crossed over and over) on a pad of paper and copied the final letter on a piece of red paper Adrien had in black pen.

Suddenly, Adrien's phone rang and he took it out to answer. He got a bit nervous when he saw it was Nathalie who was calling.

"Hi Nathalie."

"Hello Adrien, I have sent the driver to pick you up at the bakery. He will be there in five minutes. Be ready."

"Thanks Nathalie. I will, bye."

"Goodbye"

Adrien sighed as he put his phone in his pocket. He wanted to spend more time with Marinette. He noticed that she was packing his stuff up.

"Oh, you don't have to do that!" he said, trying to take his things from her. She smiled at him, but he saw the sadness in her eyes. Now that he thought about it, she had had that sad look in her eyes all evening, but he had been too distracted to notice. She had been about to say that it wasn't a problem when he edged a bit closer to her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Mari, are you okay?" he asked, the same way he had asked her in the morning.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit tired," she said, still smiling. For some reason, this answer didn't satisfy him.

"You sure that's it?"

She nodded, but she still wasn't convinced.

"C'mon. Your car will be here soon," she said, trying to change the subject. Adrien decided to let it go for then, but he knew he wouldn't be able to rest until his curiosity satisfied.

Marinette's parents weren't home when they went downstairs. Marinette remembered something just as Gorilla stop the car. "Wait here," she said to Adrien and ran back inside. She reappeared outside a minute later with the box with the Dupain-Chengs bakery logo on it.

"Here," she said handing the box to Adrien.

"Maman packed some macaroons for you before she left."

Adrien gratefully reached out to take it from her. Time seemed to have stopped. Adrien's hands were on top of Marinette's as they both held the box. Everything seemed to hold it's breath. It was almost as if their's were the only soles under the beautiful evening sky.

Gorilla coughed, bringing them both back down from the stars which were now appearing above them.

"Thanks Mari," Adrien said, slowly backing into the car. He waved at her from the window as the car drove away, and Marinette slowly waved back.

"Oh Adrian," she said to him as the car turned a corner and went out of sight, "If only you knew how I love you."


	3. Chapter 3

All the way home, and to his room, Adrien was thinking. Sure, he was really happy he had finished the letter and could finally tell Ladybug how he felt, but he was also really worried. Marinette had looked really sad all day, and he hadn't noticed until it was almost time to leave. It wasn't just the fact that he hadn't noticed, it was the intensity of pain and sadness in her eyes and how much effort she was putting into trying to conceal it from him.

Not that trying to hide the reason will work. If she didn't tell Adrien, she might tell Chat Noir. who could be more trustworthy than a superhero? Not that Adrien wasn't trustworthy enough. Maybe she was just shy. She did act kind of awkward around him when he was Adrien, though he didn't know why. He gave Plagg a piece of camembert so he would have enough energy for later. He went over to his foosball table and started playing. It was his routine. If he had lied down in bed to think, Nathalie would have told his father and called the doctor, in other words, made a mountain of a molehill. After a while he got bored and started playing video games. At nine, Nathalie came and told him to go to bed. At 9:15 she came to check on him, as he knew she would, and left for the night when she saw him in his bed, supposedly asleep.

The blond model waited ten more minutes before stealthily getting out of bed. His kwami was sleeping in his drawer as if he was the one who had been working and thinking all day. "Plagg, get up," Adrien said, gently poking him. Plagg rolled over and mumbled something that sounded like camembert. "Plagg, c'mon," his holder said, poking him again, harder this time. When he still didn't wake up, Adrien slowly pulled out a piece of camembert from another drawer and held it above Plagg's nose, just out of his reach. Plagg slowly opened his eyes and reached for the cheese, which Adrien had pulled behind him as soon as his kwami had shown the least sign of movement.

"Hey , gimme that!" Plagg said, hovering in front of Adrien with his arms crossed. "You'll get it when we get back," Adrien said. "Do we have to go? It's late and I'm sleepy. I was just having a wonderful dream about a beautiful piece of camembert, and I was sharing it with-" Plagg abruptly stopped, realizing he had said more than he has meant to. Adrien was surprised, and intrigued. Who could possibly be in Plagg's dreams apart from camembert, if kwamis could even dream. "Who were you sharing it with?" the blonde asked his kwami with curiosity-filled eyes.

"No one. Why did you wake me?" Plagg replied, unsuccessfully trying to change the subject. "That can wait a minute. Who were you dreaming of?" Adrien asked. Plagg sighed. It felt wrong to be keeping secrets from Adrien, he was his holder, and he knew Adrien would threaten him with no cheese for the next week or so if he didn't tell him, and Plagg couldn't afford that.

"Ok, I'll tell you, but only so you won't stay awake all night out of curiosity."

Adrien rolled his eyes. Of course Plagg would say something like that. "Tikki," Plagg said. Adrien blinked at his kwami. He had no idea what in the world 'Tikki' was. "What's that?" He asked blankly. "I didn't tell you about Tikki?" Plagg asked. He looked surprised too. "Uhh, no?" His holder said sheepishly. Plagg looked at him and said, "She's the Ladybug kwami." Of course, Adrien thought it was natural for Plagg to dream about Tikki. She was literally his other half. "Well Plagg, you can dream about her later," Adrien said. "Right now, there's somewhere we need to be. Plagg, claws out!"

Marinette was is her bedroom, brushing her hair. Tikki was already in bed, tucked up in her comfy bed in the dresser drawer which Marinette had made for her from a tiny cushion and a piece of really warm velvet as a blanket. Suddenly, something moved in the reflection of her balcony. Someone dressed in black was standing half hidden on her balcony. She calculated the distance and position of the figure from the reflection and, without any warning, turned on the spot and threw her hairbrush at it. It hit the figure in the middle of the chest, an inch or two higher than she had aimed. There was a loud "oof" as the shadow fell to its knees. Marinette's eyes widened as she realised who it was.

"Chat!" She exclaimed and hurried over to the bending figure. "What are you doing here? Are you okay?" She asked worriedly. "Princess," he said slowly lifting his face, "That was a perfect throw." Marinette rolled her eyes and stood up with her hairbrush in her hand and walked over to her dresser. She parted her hair and tied it with her hair elastics, all the time keeping an eye on Chat. "Aren't you worried about me anymore?" Chat asked her. "Nope," she said, tying the other half of her hair. "Why?" he said, crossing his arms like a three year old. "You were freaking out half a minute ago." She turned around and said, "That was when I thought you were hurt."

"But I am hurt. You threw a hairbrush at me, and it was really hard," the cat-themed superhero whined. "Well, that's your fault," The dark haired girl replied with an attitude that was quite unnatural to her, "You were the one lurking in the shadows of my balcony. You should've been careful."

Chat was surprised, to say the least. This wasn't like Marinette. The Marinette he knew would have apologized and given him a treat to make up for hurting him. He slowly walked up to her, put his hands in her shoulders and looked into her beautiful blue eyes. "Mari, are you okay?" Now it was Marinette's turn to be surprised. Firstly, she had to put up with the attitude mask to conceal her real feelings from him, and she certainly hadn't expected him to see through it so soon. secondly , because the only other person on the planet who called her that was Adrien, the guy she was trying very hard to not think about. "I'm fin Chat," she slowly said, with a smile on her face. Chat recognized it as the sad smile she had given Adrien in the evening. "Don't lie to me Princess," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "I know you're upset about something. You can tell me."

Marinette wrapped her arms around herself and hung her head, barely trying to hide her pain. He placed his right hand under her chin and made her look up into his eyes. "You can trust me," he said. She smiled "I trust you Chat, but it's somebody else's secret, and they trust me." He was intrigued by this revelation. Who could've asked her to keep such a painful secret, and what could it be? "You can't tell me," he said softly, "but let me help you." She looked at him confusedly. "What do you mean?" he smiled at her and slowly, gently, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into him. "My mom used to say that a hug is one of the best things you can give to someone who's worried or upset," he whispered in her ear.

Marinette was surprised at first, but gradually eased into him. "She's right," the half-chinese girl whispered into his chest. They just stood there, the only sound was their gentle breathing. Slowly, Marinette started getting drowsy. She hadn't thought she'd be able to sleep that night. But Chat had calmed her, just knowing he cared made the day more bearable. It had been a long, hard day, and the strain on her nerves was beginning to tell. Little by little, she began to fall asleep, and Chat noticed it. He scooped her up in his arms and gently laid her down in her bed, and tucked her in. as he was about to leave, she grabbed his hand. "Please stay with me," she said, half-asleep. He knew she wouldn't have had said it otherwise.

He gently sat down beside her and, taking her hand in both of his, started stroking the back until she fell asleep. When he was certain he wouldn't wake her up, he gently laid down her hand on the bed and slowly stood up, with some reluctance. She looked sad and troubled in her sleep, and Chat didn't want to leave her. He felt as if she's be unprotected and vulnerable without him. But he had to leave. Someone could come to check up on him, and he'd been missing. He bent over her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Goodnight Princess," he whispered, his face nearly touching hers, and went back home. That night, Adrien dreamt of two blue-eyed and dark-haired girls instead of just one.

Marinette woke up at about 4 in the morning. She stayed in bed, trying to recall her dream. It wasn't a nightmare, but it wasn't a good dream either. It left her with a feeling of pain and emptiness but no matter how much she tried, she couldn't remember it. Slowly, she remembered last night, and a soft, pain-filled smile started playing on her lips, but soon it left. Chat had successfully soothed her and had made her feel better, but only temporarily, although she could still feel his lingering touch on the hand he had held. She smiled again, a bit less painfully this time. Her parents had come home about an hour before Chat had come, and would be getting up in about an hour, and if they figured out she had been awake, they'd get really worried. She tried to go back to sleep, but she was awake now, and her thoughts kept going, painfully, back to Adrien.

She wondered who the letter was for. The time he had met the girl for the first time was about the same time when he started school, so maybe it was someone she knew. Before she knew it, an hour had passed, and she could hear her parents downstairs. She decided to go downstairs. It would divert her attention, and she was a bit hungry. As she got out of her room, her ears caught the sound of her father's singing. His voice wasn't exactly melodious, but it was deep and strong. She couldn't help smiling. Sometimes, she wondered what she had done to deserve such amazing parents.

"Honey, you're up early," her maman said as she reached the bottom of the stairs. "I was hungry," Marinette replied. It wasn't exactly a lie, it was just part of the truth. "I'll make you some breakfast, then you can help us arrange the bakery," Tom said, tying the apron Marinette had made him for his birthday. Marinette smiled and nodded her head. Last night they had been tired, but now Tom and Sabine noticed that something was wrong. They looked at each other wordly, and Sabine out her arm around her daughter's shoulders while Tom pretended to be out of earshot and working.

"Marinette, sweetie, is everything okay?" The petite woman asked her daughter. If Marinette was surprised, she hid it very well. "Everything's okay maman," she replied smiling, but Sabine knew her daughter well, and even though she wasn't convinced, she also knew Marinette could be extremely stubborn when she wanted to be, and she could see a shadow of that stubborness in her daughter's expression. "We won't press you to tell us anything honey," Sabine said with a kind smile. "But if you want to talk, we'll be here for you." Marinette's smile softened, and the pain in her eyes became clearer for a second before hiding behind a veil once again. "Thanks maman," the half-chinese girl said, hugging her mother. "I know you will." And then, quote to her parents' surprise, she added, "I know you can hear us Papa."

Tom turned around and laughed an infectious laugh. He walked over to his wife and daughter and pulled them in his arms. Marinette closed her eyes. Maybe, just maybe she could get through this ordeal.

Adrien woke up at precisely 7 am. If he didn't get out of bed in the next five minutes, Nathalie would call the doctor. He showered, changed, woke Plagg up, and hid him in his jacket just as Nathalie came in. "Breakfast is ready," she announced in her monotonous voice. Sometimes, just sometimes, he could catch some emotion in her eyes, and it was usually in the morning while her brain was waking up, but he could never name it. He followed her downstairs, like everyday, and sat down in his regular seat beside his father, who barely noticed him.

From 7:30 to 8:30, Nathalie gave him a lesson in advanced chemistry. Every morning, before school, Nathalie gave him an hour-long lesson in advanced something because Gabriel thought his son wasn't learning enough at school. At exactly 8:31, Adrien was in the car and was being driven to school by Gorilla.

As they were driving past some shops, Arien had a sudden idea, and abruptly told Gorilla to stop, who did as he was told. Soon as the car stopped, Adrien jumped out and half-ran to a shop with a little way back. He came back about five minutes later, stuffing a little square box, about ten centimetres in length and 4 in height, into the inside pocket of his jacket.

"Sorry about that," he said to Gorilla as he got in. as he was later than usual, he just had time to get to class before the bell rang.

He was extremely busy the whole day, but whenever he managed to sneak a glance at Marinette, her face would be a mask, but he could see the pain and sadness in her eyes, because he was looking for it, it wasn't visible to anyone who wasn't looking for it.

Years later, when he was reminded of that picture of the dark-haired girl with a forcefully maintained straight face and pain-filled eyes, he mentally tortured himself for being the cause of it.

But Marinette and her worries were the thoughts that came and went, like flashes of light. His main thoughts were concentrated on another dark-haired girl. This girl had a confident face,with eyes filled with courage and determination. He had decided to give Ladybug the letter the next time he saw her, and nothing could change his decision. Little did he know, his priorities would soon change.

He finally got a chance to talk to Marinette. After the last bell rang, everyone left, but Marinette was packing her stuff and Alya was waiting for her. Marinette's face was still emotionless, although her eyes displayed at least to him, all that she was trying to hide. Alya seemed oblivious of the emotion in Marinette's eyes, but she did look troubled. Adrien went over to them, his anxiety for Marinette coming back.

"Hey Mari, hey Alya," he said. Nino had already left as he had to help his mother with something, and Alya could tell that Adrien wanted to talk to Marinette, so she quietly moved to the side, but was within earshot.

"Marinette, I just wanted to thank you for yesterday. You have no idea how much this means to me. I'm going to give her the letter as soon as I can, and I never would've been able to finish it without you. I really can't thank you enough, and if you ever need me, I promise I'll always be there for you. You're an amazing person Marinette, and I wish I had better and bigger words, but all I can say is, thank you."

His face was beaming as he said this, and with every word he said, Marinette felt a pang in her chest, each stronger than the last. Her soft, sad smile reminded him of last night, and a shadow came over his face.

"Mari, if there's anything you want to talk about, I'm here to listen." he out his hand on her shoulder, and gazed into her beautiful blue eyes, and felt something stir in his stomach, without knowing why. He turned to leave, and as an afterthought, added, "You can tell Alya about the letter. She's probably dying to know." he flashed one last smile at her and left.

When he was out of sight and earshot from the classroom, Plagg zoomed out of his jacket and hovered in front of his holder's face. "You didn't give her the thing you bought her." Adrien mentally face-palmed at his own stupidity and turned back after Plagg was safely back in his jacket.

The first thing he heard when he was outside the classroom was Alya's annoyed voice.

"Marinette, he absolved you from your promise, you can tell me. Why don't you?"

He knew he shouldn't be eavesdropping, but his curiosity got the better of him. He was intrigued. Why wasn't Marinette telling Alya about the letter? It wasn't that big of a deal, was it?

From where he was standing, he could see Alya and Marinette from a side angle, but he could see Marinette better as she was facing more towards him. She had her arms wrapped around herself with her head hanging, like last night, except the pain and sadness were more intense. He had a sudden lounging to take her into his arms again.

He saw Alya reflect his shock when he raised her head and the tears in her eyes becomes visible.

"He asked me to help him write a love letter to the girl he loves." If Alya was shocked before, she was dumbfounded now. He couldn't see her face, but he was almost certain her eyes were huge, and he couldn't see what was wrong if he loved someone.

"And you helped him?" Alya somehow managed to ask. She sounded completely lost, and Adrien was getting more confused by the minute, more like second. Marinette nodded slowly, painfully. He saw her dig her fingernails in her arms, and Alya seemed to be coming back to her senses. Alya shook her head, as if to clear her thoughts.

"But," she said, very slowly, very cautiously, the way one approaches and injured bird, "I thought you loved him." Now it was Adrien's turn to be dumbfounded. He felt something fall on him, and he almost fell backwards. Marinette loved him? But she had helped him write a letter to a girl she didn't even know. How could she do that, unless….

His mother's voice came back to him over the span of almost two years. The night she had disappeared, she had come into his room. He was almost 12 then. She had sat beside him, with her arms lovingly around him, and his head leaning against her shoulder. She had said many things, but he hadn't understood anything at that time. But now, something was coming back to him. And he began to make sense of what she had meant.

"M'enfant," she had said, " There will come a day when you will find love. Don't blush, my child, listen. There will come a day when you will find love, and you will be confused whether it is real or not. You will think it is real, but I will give you a way to recognize it. Remember it Adrien? Don't forget! True love, m'enfant, is a selfless thing. When you truly love someone, you don't care what happens to you, as long as the one you love is safe and happy."

He was brought back to the present by Marinette's barely audible voice.

"I love him, Alya," she said. "I love him with all of my heart." There was desperation in her eyes. Adrien was still in shock, but he could comprehend what was happening.

"Then why did you help him?" Alya exclaimed. She sounded confused and frustrated. "I told you ALya," she said, a soft smile on her lips, "I helped him because I love him."

"Marinette I don't understand. I, I'm so confused," Alya said. Marinette smiled a bit more, this time, her smile was a knowing and wise smile. "There are somethings, Alya," she said, "That you learn with experience. It's one of these things. I learned that love, true love, is a selfless thing. When you truly love someone, you don't care what happens to you, as long as the one you love is safe and happy."

Alya stood still for a minute, then pulled her best friend in a hug. Adrien felt weak. He backed against a wall. He could barely think. He looked back in the classroom where Marinette was gently pulling herself away from Alya.

"I should get home," the half-chinese girl said. As soon as Adrien heard this, he cautiously took a couple of steps back, and began to run. He ran all the way down, until he was almost outside, then he leisurely walked into the car, so Gorilla wouldn't be suspicious.

He closed his eyes the moment the car began to drive, and his mind started processing what had happened. Marinette loved him. Marinette loved him. That explained everything. The pain and sadness in her eyes, and how hard she was trying to hide it from him.

Then it struck him. Although he had done it unintentionally, he had broken her heart, and yet she had helped him write a love letter to a girl she didn't even know. How could anyone be more selfless than that? She had described love in the same words as his mother had done long ago. There could be no doubt about it. She truly loved him, and he had ruthless;y torn her heart in a million pieces, and he hated himself for it.

What have I done, he said to himself, talking in his head in his hands before leaning back in his seat and staring at the ceiling. What have I done?

Curiosity killed the cat, that was an understatement.


End file.
